From Santa Rosa State Park
NM
To Santa Fe NM
Distance traveled:
116 highway miles
The
brightness of the morning sun woke me up.
The coolness of the night was already fading as I ate my breakfast and
packed up my camp site. I have to say
the contrast between day and night temperatures is quite steep. As the sun sets a fan is still welcome, but
only a couple of hours later a blanket is required and by morning I have added
a second blanket. Then as the sun comes
up you go from needing a cover up to short sleeves in just a few short hours.
 |
| brilliant desert blossoms |
I enjoyed a quiet morning walk about taking pictures of the desert vegetation. Such contrasts from the tiny blossoms of the wild flowers to the spiny cacti to the scrawny evergreens.
Today’s
drive took me from the wide open expanses of the arid plains to the mountains
around Santa Fe.
At first as I was
driving along I was reminded of tales about the vastness of the sky. It was certainly the case here. Look in any direction and the land seems
small in comparison to the enormous canopy of blue overhead. With the horizon low and fading into the
distance the sky seems to start just a hands breath above the land. No wonder artists portray prairie scenes with
just ribbon on land covered by an
expanse of blue.
 |
| the vast expanse of sky |
 |
| the distant hills gradually draw nearer |
Then
as I stated driving north on 285 all of that changes. Now in the distance hills and mountain ranges
create a shadow of blue greys reaching up into the blue tapestry and there is
the illusion that the mountains are growing up to meet the sky. There were numerous places where I just
wanted to pause and drink in the sight of the peaks in the distance.
As I was entering Santa Fe and it felt like I was entering different world
altogether. The homes continue to
reflect the historical adobe style of architecture. What an amazing contrast to all the other
cities I have seen so far on this trip.
 |
| modern version of adobe style construction |
I guess a part of me was surprised.
Even though I know that the historical method of building shelters in
this region was the adobe style, for some reason I had not anticipated that the
tradition would continue with modern construction.
I was going to meet my friend Hope at her
home, and driving into a modern neighborhood where all the homes are still
finished in a traditional appearance was like a revelation.
Hope and I spent the afternoon talking and catching up and then in the evening we went to the old historic part
of Santa Fe for dinner.
Here the revelation
continued. There is hardly any
distinguishing the Old from the New.
Can you imagine driving into a parking garage that looks like an adobe
hut only bigger? I would love to just
wander around these streets for a couple of hours allowing the charm of this
building style flow through me. I will have to come back tomorrow to do just
that.
For now we enjoyed a lovely
Mexican dinner together and continued our lively discussions. I learnt that I had passed through another
time zone and so I am now 2 hours behind Toronto time. So here it is 11 pm as I write this and my body is crying
out for sleep thinking it is 1AM! Well
I will give in, shut the lights now, nighty night!
Renate Dundys Marrello
2014 – 08 – 07
Picture
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